A Florida man has been arrested for allegedly firing a gun at three people during a bizarre argument over the number of eggs his chickens could lay. The incident occurred in front of Harper’s Pub in Port St. Lucie on Tuesday, and no one was injured, police said.
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In a statement to Newsweek magazine, the Port St. Lucie Police Department said Peter Riera, 44, claimed to be a farmer and began the disturbance after questioning the bird’s ability to lay eggs. Spokesperson Sergeant Dominic Mesiti said: “We can confirm that the argument between the three victims and Mr Riera stemmed from a conversation about the number of eggs that chickens lay.”
How many eggs do chickens lay?Florida bar fight ends in gunfire
Gunfire and chaos in front of the bar
Riera is charged with three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, two counts of aggravated assault without intent to kill, four counts of firing a weapon in public and using a firearm while intoxicated. Police said the man fired four shots from a .45-caliber Glock handgun outside the bar, which was closed at the time.
Sergeant Mesiti reported that after the argument, Riera accused him of getting carried away and trying to deceive the victims. “One of the victims ran into the street trying to escape from the gunman, and the other two hid. There were several phone calls and the gunman himself called 911,” he told local broadcaster WPBF.
According to police reports, the victims knew Riera, met him the same night, and consumed alcoholic beverages at various levels of intoxication. Two other people were arrested in the case: Brandon Pace, 24, for resisting arrest with violence, and Kayla Damiani, 26, for interfering with an officer’s investigation while they tried to restrain Pace.
Mesiti stressed to WPBF that carrying a weapon while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is extremely dangerous. “This will never lead to good results,” he said. A video recording the moment of Riera’s arrest is circulating on social media.
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